Carnal Magic
by WriterMist07
Summary: Harry Potter finally notices Ginny Weasley. Is it too late for a deep, sensual romance to bloom or will it result in scandal & betrayal?
1. Chapter 1

"We can't keep meeting like this" Ginny whispered.

"Yes we can & we will" Harry replied, pulling Ginny into his embrace.

"You must let me go" requested Ginny, half-heartedly tugging out of Harry's hold.

"My dear, if you really wanted to stop this, you would have stood me up tonight. Plus, we both know you don't want me to let you go. At least not now." Ginny stopped pretending to get away & succumbed to his encirclement. She's conflicted. She as a boyfriend, Dean, but has always loved Harry Potter.

All these years of pining after Harry & loving him, she decided to move on. He never noticed her & just regarded her as Ron's sister. Sure he was nice but he never saw her as a love interest. After Ginny decided to move on, she developed more self-confidence, became independent & people noticed. One to those people being Harry. By this time, Ginny was in her fifth year, popular & was dating Dean Thomas. He was handsome, a year older & they had a lot in common. They were dating for about seven months when Harry made his intentions clear.

(Flashback) It was the last day of winter Holidays, everyone from Gryffindor except Ron, Hermione & Harry went home for Christmas. Hermione & Ron were playing chess by the window in the Gryffindor common room. Harry & Ginny were sitting by the fireplace, roasting marshmallows.

"Enjoying your holiday Harry" Ginny asked while rotating the poker in the fire.

"For the most part. There's just one thing I didn't get for Christmas" said Harry.

"Really, what's that?" Ginny inquired.

"You" he said simply.

Ginny laughed it off because she really believed that he was joking. "You're silly."

"I'm not playing. I want you" Harry said gazing into her eyes.

"Harry" Ginny said with a nervous giggle, "maybe you had a few too many glasses of eggnog…"

"I haven't had any alcohol to drink" Harry said cutting her off. He took the roasted marshmallow out of the fire & took a bite.

"Why would you say this to me now? After all these years? Besides, I'm in a relationship" Ginny stated. She took her marshmallow out too but hers was burnt. She ate it anyway. She needed something to do while her mind went into overdrive.

"Honestly, I just started to notice you this year. Forgive me, I guess I was too preoccupied with trying to stay alive" he joked. They both laughed.

"I'm so sorry, I'm such an idiot" Ginny said, slapping herself in the forehead.

"Don't be" Harry said, grabbing her hand away from her forehead, holding her hand. This simple gesture of comfort was too overwhelming. Ginny felt so many mixed emotions. She felt like a cheater, triumphant & confused. She couldn't just live in the moment & be happy. What would Ron think? How could she explain this to Dean? She needed to get away.

"I'm heading up to bed, it been a long day" Ginny said to Harry, reluctantly pulling her hand out of Harry's grasp. She half expected him to stop her but he didn't.

"See you tomorrow. Have sweet dreams" Harry said. He recognized defeat & didn't want to push her. He knew he couldn't be too aggressive or she'd run. He needed to take the subtle approach to get exactly he wanted. That being, her in his bed.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, classes resumed. Every student was back at Hogwarts & depression floated through the hallways since the holidays were over. Ginny woke that day feeling exhausted. She barely slept a wink. She was up, tossing & turning thinking about Harry. She couldn't believe what he said last night or how sincere he looked while he said it. A part of her wanted him still but another part of her knew better. She was having an internal struggle with her mixed feelings for Harry & her feelings for Dean.

Time was running out, she needed to get to Charms with the other fifth years before Flitwick gave her extra homework for being late. She took a quick shower, dressed & dashed out of the portrait.. When she reached Charms, Dean was waiting for her. He normally did this to get a morning kiss. Instead of the feeling happy to see him as she usually was, she groaned.

"Hi Sweetheart" Dean said, kissing Ginny on the lips. "I missed you."

"Oh, I missed you too" said Ginny, feeling guilty. She did miss him but after last night with Harry, she was dreading seeing him.

"I'm going to be late so let's catch up later" Ginny said, rushing past him to get into class. He held her back.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine fine. See you later" she said.

Whew, she didn't know what to say or if she should say anything to him at all. All of Charms, Ginny was trying to figure out what to do & how to make sense of things. By the end of class, she decided that she didn't have to do anything. Harry probably wasn't really serious or realized that she was not going to choose him over Dean. She was just probably blowing the whole thing out of proportion. Yes, that was it, she told herself. How wrong she was.

Once Ginny came to this conclusion, she glanced around & realized she was the last one left in the classroom. Her next class was Herbology & that didn't start until for another forty-five minutes. She was about to leave the classroom with she heard the door open. Harry stepped him. He came alone.

"Hey Ginny" Harry said.

"Hi Harry!" she said, inwardly groaning for replying so loud. "Is this your next class?"

"No, I have a free period. I came to see you" said Harry. "Have you thought about what I said last night?"

"Well, yes I have" Ginny said. She thought he would drop this so she didn't have anything prepared to say. She decided on just telling the truth.

"Look Harry, I'm with Dean now. I don't want to hurt him so nothing can happen between us" she said.

He smirked. "That's interesting. In those whole two sentences I didn't hear you say anything about not wanting me back."

'Well I…" Ginny started but before she could finish, Harry closed the gap between them, grabbed Ginny around the waist & kissed her. It wasn't some little peck, it was a full blown, tongue in the mouth kiss. Ginny was surprised. At first her hands were at her sides but by the middle to end of the kiss, her arms were around his neck, one hand clawing into his hair & one his hands were grabbing her ass. He was the first to pull away.

"Don't bother finishing whatever you were going to say, it's pretty clear that you want me too. I just came here to tell you that I'm not backing down. I'm not asking you to break up with Dean" Harry said.

"Then what do you want?" Ginny asked, her mind was in a daze & her body was tingling like never before.

"I've already told you. You" he said simply.

"But what does that entail?" Ginny probed.

"Whatever you want" he said then he said kissed her again but this time just a simple peck on the lips. He then left.

Ginny stood there for quite some time, reexamining everything that just transpired. She just had one thought in mind. "Wtf?"


	3. Chapter 3

"I feel like such a cheater" Ginny kept telling herself. How could she let Harry kiss her? How could she let herself kiss him back? This wasn't fair to Dean, this is not who she was. Why hadn't she stopped it? Why did she like? She kept asking herself all these questions but was afraid of dealing with the real answer.

The rest of the school day passed in a daze. She didn't see Harry for the rest of the day. She tried to not looking for him but couldn't help it. She didn't want to be caught off guard again. He had a habit of doing that she noticed. The next time she saw him, she was going to set him straight that he needed to stop or she would avoid him completely.

At dinner, Dean was sitting with her like usual, talking about oh, she wished she knew. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts, she just said "oh yeah?" & "right" when there was a pause in his chatter. He seemed satisfied until it was time to get up & head up to the common room.

"Did you hear me?" Dean asked. Getting up from the table.

"Yes sure" Ginny said, following his lead, assuming it was time to leave.

"Then what did I say?" he inquired.

"You said it's time to head up" Ginny replied.

"No, I asked if you want to go to Hogsmeade this weekend. What is wrong with you today?" he sounded annoyed.

"Oh sorry, yeah sure. What do you mean what's wrong with me?" Ginny asked.

"You think I haven't noticed how distant you've been since I've come back. Do I not interest you anymore?" he sounded hurt.

"No Sweetie. I've just had a long day" Ginny said quickly, rubbing his cheek with her hand. He didn't seem convinced but he let the topic go.

"Come on" he said, leading the way out of the Great Hall.

Ginny decided that until she went up to bed, she would give Dean her undivided attention. He deserved that at least that. When they reached the common room, they sat on a couch & she asked him all about his holiday. He talked about spending it with his parents & grandparents, going skiing & getting the broomstick he wanted, a Nimbus 2000.

She was beginning to feel calm again. This is what she wanted, needed, normalcy. She loved Dean, he made her happy & didn't play games. Harry on the other hand, wait why was she thinking about him? She decided to change her train of thought back to the present. Just as she decided to do just that, Harry walked through the portrait hole. He looked right at her & smirked. She did not like that look at all. What she liked even less was him heading straight towards them.

"Hey Dean" Harry said. He was leaned against the armrest by Ginny. What an awkward situation. She wanted to scream.

"Hey Harry" Dean replied.

"How was your holiday?" Harry asked. As Dean recited pretty much the same thing he told her, Ginny's heart started to race. She felt like Harry was doing this on purpose but why? She never led Harry on or did anything to him.

After Dean finished talking about his holiday, Harry said "Well we had fun too right Ginny?" he playfully punched her in the shoulder.

"Oh yeah?" Dean asked, "What did you guys do?"

"Nothing really, just hung out" Ginny said. When she said that, she knew that didn't sound too good.

"Like what?' Dean asked further, looking curious. At that moment, Neville Longbottom came over.

"Dean, you have to come over here & see this" Neville said, pulling Dean to get up.

"One minute" Dean said, trying to resist.

"C'mon before it's too late. Seamus found a new spell that multiples galleons" Neville pleaded.

"Fine" Dean said reluctantly & headed to the other side of the common to see what all the commotion was about.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ginny hissed at Harry.

"What ever do you mean?" Harry asked innocently.

"Oh c'mon, you're trying to break us up" Ginny said. She couldn't believe that Harry would do this. What kind of sick game was he playing at.

"Exactly" Harry said. He moved from the armrest & sat right next to her.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well stop! Just accept that I'm with Dean. You can't have me when you want. I moved on!" Ginny said angrily.

"You say that but earlier today, your lips were telling me a different story. Maybe Dean would want to hear that tale" Harry whispered. He moved to get up as if he was going to go tell Dean. Ginny panicked and grabbed his arm & pulled him back down.

"Look, what will make you stop this?" Ginny asked.

"Meet me tonight at one. You won't regret it" Harry said with a smile.

"And if I don't?" Ginny questioned.

"Then I'll tell Dean everything" Harry said simply.

"You wouldn't dare" Ginny whispered. "You know this is blackmail right?"

"Yup. I don't think you want to try me" Harry said, "see you later." He got up & strolled to where Dean was & the rest of the guys. It was like he was challenging her. He knew she probably was thinking of backing out of their deal but seeing him next Dean would scare her into keeping it.

At one in the morning, Ginny apprehensively met Harry in the common room. He was wearing pajamas & had his invisibility cloak in his hand. Ginny had heard stories about it but never saw it in person. Even though was angry with Harry for blackmailing her into this meeting, she had to admit that that cloak was pretty awesome.

"Hey" Harry said simply. "I'm glad you came."

"Like you left me any choice" Ginny said. "What is this about?"

"You'll see. Come close to me so you can fit under the cloak" Harry said. Ginny gave him an irritated look but slid next to him as he threw the cloak over them. He smelled nice. Like baby powder with a hint of lavender. He held her hand, leading her thought the portrait hole. She would have rejected his hand but there was no other way for him to guide the way. As they slid through the portrait hole, the Fat Lady woke up & asked "who's there?" They just kept walking down the passageway. The direction they were headed in looked familiar. He was leading them towards the Room of Requirement.

When they finally reached where the entrance would be, Harry took the cloak of them.

"What are we doing here?" Ginny asked. Harry didn't respond. She could tell he was thinking though. After a few seconds, a door appeared.

"Let's go" Harry said, gesturing her to enter first. She did so, not sure what to expect. As she entered, she was amazed at what she saw. There in front of her eyes was what looked like the inside of Honeydukes shop. There was the table & display stands & the rows & rows of candy. Honeydukes was Ginny's favorite place. She loved the sweets they served & the atmosphere. Ginny had two questions for Harry. First, how did he know this was her favorite place? She never told anybody about her love for the shop. Secondly, how did he get all of this candy in here? The Room of Requirement was not able to manifest actual food.

"Do you like it?" Harry asked looking nervous.

"I love it. How did you know about this place?" Ginny asked. She walked around the imitation shop, peeking in the candy jars.

"Well, Ron mentioned how much you loved sweets. One time when we went to Honeydukes & you were there, you looked so happy. You kept looking around with a gleam in your eye, you looked so sweet. I heard you sigh & say that you wished you could afford more candy then you were able to pay for. So, I decided that I'd give you something sweet. Here, you can have as much candy as you want without any restrictions. I thought it might make you happy" Harry said.

Ginny walked towards him, with tears in her eyes.

"Harry all this candy must have cost you a galleons. I can't believe you did this" Ginny said.

"Do you like it though?" Harry asked, still looking nervous.

"Yes but…" Ginny started.

"Don't worry about it Ginny. Really, I just wanted to do something nice" Harry said, coming close to her & putting his arms around her waist.

"This is the second best thing someone has ever done for me" Ginny said, wiping the tears off her cheeks.

"What was the first?" Harry asked curiously.

"You saving my life in the Chambers of Secrets" Ginny smiled. Harry smiled too & then kissed her. It wasn't a kiss like before. It was a tender, loving kiss. She didn't think to stop him nor cared to. She let go & gave in.


	5. Chapter 5

They sat & talked in the imitation Honey Dukes for hours. Ginny learned about Harry's life. She was eager to learn more about him. He talked about his aspiration's to be an Auror, his life with the Dursleys and what his private lessons with Dumbledore were about. She always knew Harry was down to earth but hearing him speak this candid made her like him even more. Anyone would think that being this famous hero, he would be conceited, he was far from it. He was confident but not to the point of arrogance.

The conversation wasn't all about him either. Harry asked Ginny many questions about growing up with a large family & being the only girl. He seemed to stay clear of the topic of her being possessed by Voldemort. She liked that he knew that she didn't want to relive that. He complimented her being a great Chaser, on her spell casting abilities and her looks.

Ginny glanced at the wall clock, it was four in the morning. She hopped off of the cushioned bench they were sitting on.

"We better head back" Ginny said.

"I guess you're right. I enjoyed my time with you" Harry smiled.

"I did too" Ginny grinned back.

"So where does this leave us?" Harry asked, still sitting on the bench, looking up at her. He looked as if he would be severely hurt if she told him she wasn't interested.

"I don't know what you want from me" Ginny said. She really didn't know.

"I want you to be my girlfriend" Harry said.

"I heard about how your relationship with Cho Chang. Are you sure a relationship is what you need? After you telling me about all that's on your plate nowadays, a relationship might just be another complication for you" Ginny said. She was trying to be rational about this. She wanted to be with Harry but she wanted to know exactly where his head was at.

"Let me be the judge of what I can and cannot handle. Don't ever call yourself a complication, if anything, you're an asset" Harry said with a grin.

"Oh, so I'm something to obtain?" Ginny asked, she was slightly insulted.

"No you're something to be treasured & loved" Harry said, getting up facing her. "I would be honored if you chose to be with me. Even though I have a lot of things going on, I will always make time for you. I know you're busy as well so I could only hope you'd make time to accommodate me as well."

He said all the right things.

"I'm breaking things off with Dean" Ginny said.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, looking into her eyes.

"Yes. I'm sure" Ginny replied. Harry kissed her, holding her in his arms for who knows how long.

When he finally let her go, he said "Let's get out of here. Meet me back here, same time. I want to by then be able to officially call you mine."

"Deal" Ginny said, enthusiastically.


	6. Chapter 6

After having an amazing time in the Room of Requirement, Ginny was left with the dreading task of breaking up with Dean. She really did like Dean but he didn't compare to Harry. Dean was sweet, considerate & a great boyfriend but he didn't have that "it" factor. The "it" factor is this feeling that someone gets when the chemistry between two people feels undeniable. It's a feeling that is hard to describe but it makes the person feel alive. Before Harry, Ginny didn't know that feeling existed.

If Ginny stayed with Dean, she would be settling for safe. She now knew that she craved taking risks & wanted to feel alive. She was tired of feeling content, she wanted to feel ecstatic. She wanted to feel that thrill Harry gave her, every time she saw him. Ginny was always happy to see Dean but she never felt her heart pounding.

To be honest with herself. Ginny knew deep down that she never stopped loving Harry. She told herself she was over it because he never noticed her & she felt rejected. That was her defense mechanism coming into play so she wouldn't feel hurt anymore. Ginny didn't blame Harry for not having an instant attraction to her. He was indeed preoccupied with his dangerous life. She only hoped that this new found attraction he had towards her wasn't fleeting. Guys were known to grow bored with the girl after they won the chase. She didn't want to be something to conquered, she wanted to be someone to be treasured.

The next morning, Ginny sent an owl to Dean, asking him to meet her by the Black Lake at ten. She looked at the clock in her dormitory, it was nine thirty. She quickly dressed and walked out to meet him. Her heart was racing as she walked. It was the good kind of excited racing, it was pure anxiety. Ginny doubted anyone felt great when they had to be break up with someone.

When she reached the Black Lake, Dean was standing there alone with a bouquet of lilies in his hand. "Oh boy" she thought in herself. When she reached him, his face lit up & handed her the bouquet.

"These are for you" he said. "I hope you like them. I know your favorite flowers are lilies."

"Thank you Dean, they're beautiful" Ginny said, holding them to her nose & sniffing them. How could she break up with him when he did sweet things like this? At that moment, she couldn't bear the thought of breaking his heart. She wanted to be with Harry but it would weigh heavily on her chest to see the sadness on Dean's face that leaving him would bring.

Ginny decided that Harry would have to wait. If Harry was truly the real deal, he would understand & he would wait until this relationship with Dean sizzled down. Dean deserved that much.

"I feel like we've been drifting apart & I want to change that" Dean said. "I love you too much to stand by & do nothing. We can fix this."

"Okay" Ginny said simply. Dean extended his hand & said "Come take a walk with me around the lake." With a heavy sigh, Ginny took his hand & they walked.

True love would overcome all. Ginny just prayed Harry would have the patience.


	7. Chapter 7

"So what you're telling me is that you didn't break up with him? You're staying" Harry asked looking baffled & hurt. They were back in the imitation HoneyDukes that night.

"I just couldn't do it but you're the one I want" Ginny said in a pleading voice.

"So let me understand your logic here. You think staying with him longer will soften the blow for when you eventually break up with him? Does that make any sense to you because it doesn't to me" Harry said, exasperated. When he put it like that, Ginny thought to herself, it didn't make sense.

"Harry I'm sorry. What can I do?" Ginny asked.

"You can do what you said you were going to do last night" Harry said simply.

"I just can't. Not right now" Ginny replied.

Harry just mouthed the word "wow" & walked towards the door.

"Please don't leave Harry" Ginny begged. When Harry reached the door, he turned & said "I don't know what else I can do" and walked out.

That night, Ginny cried herself to sleep. She was mourning the loss of what could have been. She knew she made a stupid decision but she still couldn't break up with Dean. She didn't want Dean to feel one ounce of the pain she was feeling right now. The only thing that made her able to finally fall asleep was the hope that not all was lost between her & Harry.

For the rest of the week, Harry didn't pay Ginny any attention. That really hurt her feelings but she understood why. She couldn't blame him. Her relationship with Dean felt forced. At times, she felt like Dean knew that it wasn't working but didn't say anything. The walk they took around the lake didn't solve the lack of passion she felt. There walk around the lake was an unspoken understanding that they would stay together and try to make it work.

Every time Ginny walked hand & hand with Dean down the halls and Harry was around, he seemed to deliberately ignore looking at them. Ginny actually felt guilty holding Dean's hand.

A month later, Ginny was finishing up a Potion's essay in her four poster bed when Hedwig came through the window and landed on her bed. She had a note tied to her leg. There was only one person that this note could be from.

"Hi Sweetie" Ginny said to Hedwig, patting her head then removing the note. She always loved Hedwig because she was so snowy white & faithful to Harry.

Unfurling the note with bated breath, Ginny read "I miss you." That's all it said. Those three little words made her heart pound. Ginny quickly grabbed her quill and wrote on the other side of paper "I miss you too. I'm sorry." Ginny tied the note back on Hedwig's foot. Hedwig hooted and flew back the way she came.

Ginny tried to go back to writing her essay but the anticipation was too great. Twenty minutes later she eventually gave up on writing & waited for Harry's reply. She wondered if he would even reply. It wasn't like she started a conversation, she just said replied & said sorry. Ten minutes later, Hedwig flew back in.

The note read, "Don't be sorry, just meet me in the common room at midnight."


End file.
